Crouse murder trial delayed for health reasons

New trial date to be determined for former Otho fire chief accused of killing his wife

January 24, 2008

The trial of a former Otho man accused of killing his wife is being delayed.

Denny Crouse, 52, is accused of killing Dianne Crouse, a Gowrie native, in December 2006.

The trial is being delayed for medical reasons. A hearing is set for Monday to determine a new date for the trial.

Crouse is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Dianne Crouse, formerly

Dianne Redman. Her daughter, who was 8 at the time, came home from school Nov. 28, 2006, and found Crouse stabbed to death in the kitchen of the couple’s Queen Creek, Ariz., home. The couple’s 1 1/2-year-old daughter was also in the house at the time, but was unharmed.

“We’d like to have it finished,” she said. “I still don’t think I’ve accepted her death and I don’t think I can until this is over.”

Rabbitt is raising her sisters daughters in Gowrie. She said she intends to be in Arizona for the trial when it finally gets underway. Rabbitt hopes to give the court a victim impact statement at the end of the trial.

‘‘It never occurred to me that it would take more than a year to have it done,’’ said Rabbitt.

Crouse was a nurse at the intensive care unit at Trinity Regional Medical Center until she and her husband moved to Arizona in 2006. Denny Crouse was the chief of the Fire Department in Otho before leaving for Arizona.

According to police booking reports, Crouse admitted killing his wife during a ‘‘physical fight’’ at their home. He was arraigned for the murder Dec. 6, two days before Dianne Crouse’s funeral.